what failing twilight
by callmesandy
Summary: Marty proposes after a week in a place that smells. (post-7th Child.)
Notes: for trope bingo space: handcuffed/bound and opening quote from the poem Bubble Bath by Feliz Lucia Molina. This story is follows canon for everything except Deeks's mother being alive, which she is not in this story. She is dead. She has been dead for years, since at least Personal and actually much earlier. Thanks to the JAM!

 _what failing twilight of the ampersand so give me your hand and don't let go_

"We have to get out of these handcuffs, Kens, it's imperative," Marty said.

"Yeah, I don't want to die in my underwear either," Kensi said.

"Certainly not that underwear. You really do need to do laundry," Marty said. They were handcuffed and tied back to back in some intricate tricky fashion. Marty left Kensi to puzzle it out and then tell him what to do.

"I did do laundry, but some things have to be hand washed," Kensi said. "I assume you're thinking of the Elle MacPherson set you bought me as more suitable underwear to die in."

"The best way to die is naked, the way we were born, but yeah. Hey, you like that, don't you?" Kensi kept poking him.

"I do like them," Kensi said. She was clearly thinking, judging by the quiet concentration in her voice.

"There's something in my shirt," Marty said.

"Is my engagement ring in the pocket of your shirt?" Now she sounded incensed.

"It's not in the pocket," he said. "It's carefully sewn in the seam so it's not visible but I can just sneak away, take apart my shirt and then present it to you."

"Still," Kensi said. She tapped his left palm. She described how they had to get out of their restraints which only required the skills of a Simone Biles level gymnast, but hell, Kensi probably was.

Marty was not, but he muddled through.

They both quickly dressed. Kensi said, "Let me see the ring."

"No, it's not the right time," Marty said. "It's not romantic, it's the basement of abandoned suburban flophouse and it smells and Monty's not here."

Kensi fiddled with her phone and turned on her doggy cam app. Now she and Monty were staring at him.

"That doesn't count," Marty said.

"It's the whole reason I picked this daycare this week."

Marty said, "Because you anticipated this whole situation?"

"I guessed," Kensi said. "I know you. You always want Monty present to make a moment real. Not my mom, not your friends or my friends, your dog."

"You knew my dog before I knew your friends or we re-met your mom or you met my friends," Marty said. He cocked his head to one side and Monty mimicked him. "Are you afraid I'm gonna chicken out from asking you?"

"It's been a week," Kensi said. "It was an emotional day."

"Fine," Marty said. He turned around to work the ring out of his button down. "But look, I went weird. I wanted something that had no history. Just for us, you know?" He didn't look over his shoulder. "And I can get another one if all of your friends, or Sam and Nell, are like 'where's the stone?' But it made me think of you and honestly, you never wear jewelry anyway so." He turned around and held it out to her in his palm. "It's just an open bar ring. That's what they call it. But that gold comes straight from Smaug's horde judging by what it cost."

"Geek," Kensi said, taking the ring from him. She put it on her finger. "I like it. It's not weird, it's beautiful, it's us."

"So that's a yes?" His voice gave an unmanly squeak.

"How much of this are you going to try to get out of? You have to ask a question to get a yes or no."

"You're already wearing my ring," he said. "I'm not going to be sappy enough."

"Maybe I don't want sappy," Kensi said.

"It does seem very un-Kensi like," Marty said. Then he passed her her gun as their would-be captors came barrelling down the stairs.

Five expert shots and five pretty damn good shots later, Kensi and Marty were the only ones standing. His ears were ringing, and he assumed hers were as well. He said, loudly, "Wanna get married? To me? Forever?"

"Okay," she said. "Sounds good," she shouted.

They kicked the bad guys' weapons away and secured them with zip ties. Secured them much better than he and Kensi had been secured.

He said, "How is this better than the hallway at work?"

"You bought me this ring, and the gold came from Smaug's horde," Kensi said.

"It's also super ethical. I think it's possibly Canadian," Marty said. "You can't get more ethical than that."

She laughed and kissed him, her ring cold against his cheek.


End file.
